On Monday we posted the last NACOcast episode for this year. Christopher really outdid himself this time — It’s a wonderful 30-minute guided tour of Handel’s Messiah.
The post title? You have to tune in.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2006.
Did you tune in to the King Biscuit Flower Hour as a kid, way past your bedtime on a crappy hand-held transistor radio? Me too!
You’ll be glad to learn then, literally hundreds of concerts like those from KBFH — part of legendary concert promoter Bill Graham’s vast archive — are available as streaming audio from rock merchandise vendor Wolfgang’s Vault. Concerts by artists as varied as Elvis Costello, Bob Marley, Little Feat, King Crimson, Miles Davis and The Clash are available as online streaming audio.
Although the feeds’ bit rate is quite low (my guess is less than 64k) the shows are worth a listen, especially if you find yourself able to listen to music for extended periods at your computer (read work).
As a bonus, the throttled bitrate hearkens back to my little red Hitachi portable.
In a media landscape dominated by Viacoms, Clear Channels and Disneys (the big box strip malls of ‘content’), podcasting has allowed us to easily (re-) connect with quality programming boutiques. One of these gems is the music review show Sound Opinions originating from Chicago Public Radio.
Combining the energy of college radio and the savvy of seasoned music journalism, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot are passionate and knowledgeable and a pleasure to listen to.
I love that I can listen to Sound Opinions on my walk to work, where I don’t have the time to devour music monthlies anymore. It’s rekindled for me an interest in indie rock. Just recently the podcast introduced me to the group Midlake and had me give The Decemberists a second try (much to my surprise, I was blown away by their latest album, The Crane Wife).
Recent Sound Opinions shows have featured the art of the Mixtape, and of course a Year in Review show.
Check out the back catalogue of shows : RSS.
In a preemptive strike on my usual resolutions for the new year — read more, listen to new music, watch TV less — our household (Luca included) has decided that we won’t immediately have our one-and-only television repaired for some months to come. The set refused to start up the other evening, and so it will remain for the time being.
Truth be told, we were only really watching Italian soccer on the weekends, and, with Juve in Serie B this season, where’s the fun in that?
So, that’s it. If suddenly I give you a papier mâché model of the Chrysler building, complete with inlaid tin foil work, you’ll understand.
There’s music that I oddly associate with Christmas as much as Deck the Halls and Jingle Bell Rock. ‘Oddly’, because the music in question has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas really, except in my memory.
I’m referring to seminal records that I received as Christmas gifts in my youth. Records I now can’t help but associate with Christmas (fondly). It was usually one album per Christmas, two in exceptional years.
After Christmas breakfast, I spent most of the rest of the day, and most of the rest of the Christmas holidays, playing the LPs over and over again until, by the time school started again, the records were as familiar to me and worn out as discs that had been in my fledgling but cherished collection for years.
(There’s something special about albums bought or received in my youth. They were few and far between and so very carefully chosen. Downloading the entire back catalogue of a given artist over P2P is just not the same thing. So I’m told, anyway.)
Maurizio’s Christmas favourites: Let it Be - The Beatles, ‘77 - Talking Heads, In Through the Out Door - Led Zeppelin and that perennial Yuletide chestnut, London Calling - The Clash.
Luca played his very first recital after just 3 months of piano lessons with Sally. He was composed, focused and gave a very poised bow when he was done. On the set list were, Ode to Joy, Let’s Play Ball, The Dance Band, Alouette, and a raucous version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas that brought the house down. Watch for the limited edition 12″ remix coming soon.